Nigerians paid at least N7.78 billion in ransom to kidnappers between July 2025 and June 2026, as the number of people abducted across the country rose sharply, according to a new report by security and intelligence firm SBM Intelligence.
The report, titled The Capture of Nigeria’s Kidnap Economy, found that 7,825 people were abducted during the 12-month period, representing a 66 per cent increase compared with the previous reporting cycle, when 4,722 victims were recorded.
SBM Intelligence also documented 1,713 kidnapping and kidnapping-related incidents, comprising 1,411 kidnapping incidents and 302 security operations linked to kidnapping.
The security situation also became deadlier, with at least 1,142 people killed during the period. Civilians accounted for 895 of the deaths, while 179 suspected kidnappers and 68 security personnel were also killed.
Ransom payments more than tripled
One of the most significant findings of the report was the sharp increase in ransom payments despite a substantial decline in the total amount demanded by kidnappers.
According to SBM Intelligence, kidnappers demanded approximately N22.86 billion in ransom between July 2025 and June 2026. Of that amount, at least N7.78 billion was actually paid.
The N22.86 billion demanded represented a significant decline from the N48 billion demanded during the previous reporting period.
However, actual ransom payments more than tripled, rising from N2.56 billion to N7.78 billion.
SBM calculated that the ransom collection rate consequently increased from 5.35 per cent to 34 per cent.
The intelligence firm warned that the N7.78 billion figure should be regarded as a conservative estimate because it was able to establish the exact amount paid in only 70 cases. In another 16 incidents, ransom payments were confirmed but the exact amounts could not be verified.
Boko Haram faction collected 90% of recorded ransom
The report identified a particularly worrying concentration of ransom revenue among terrorist groups.
The Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati Wal-Jihad (JAS) faction of Boko Haram and allied cells reportedly collected about N7.0015 billion, representing approximately 90 per cent of all recorded ransom payments during the period.
The amount came from only eight incidents.
By comparison, unaffiliated kidnappers and bandits reportedly collected about N719.4 million from 146 cases.
SBM said the figures point to a major change in Nigeria’s kidnapping economy, with mass abductions increasingly becoming an important source of financing for terrorist organisations.
Two major incidents accounted for almost the entire ransom collected by the JAS faction.
In April 2026, 416 people were reportedly abducted in Ngoshe, Borno State, with N5 billion paid as ransom.
Another N2 billion was reportedly paid following the November 2025 abduction of 315 pupils and staff of St Mary’s School in Papiri, Niger State.
Together, the two incidents accounted for approximately N7 billion in ransom payments.
Mass kidnappings dominate crisis
The report also highlighted the growing prevalence of mass abductions.
SBM classified 396 of the 1,411 recorded kidnapping incidents as mass abductions involving at least five victims.
Those incidents accounted for 6,222 victims, or 79.5 per cent of everyone abducted during the reporting period.
The data indicates that kidnappers are increasingly targeting groups of people rather than isolated individuals, allowing criminal and terrorist organisations to demand larger sums of money from single operations.
The development has heightened concerns about the vulnerability of schools, communities, farmers and travellers across parts of Nigeria.
Northern Nigeria bears the brunt
Northern Nigeria remained the epicentre of the kidnapping crisis.
According to SBM, 7,334 victims, representing 93.7 per cent of all abducted persons, were recorded across northern states during the period. Only 491 victims were recorded across the southern states.
Zamfara State recorded the highest number of kidnapping incidents and victims, while Sokoto, Kaduna, Katsina and Kwara also recorded significant numbers of victims.
The concentration of kidnapping victims in the North reflects the persistent security challenges confronting several communities across the Northwest, North-Central and Northeast regions.
Ransom payment does not guarantee survival
The report also highlighted the increasingly dangerous nature of ransom kidnappings, noting that payment does not always guarantee the safe release of victims.
SBM recorded at least six cases in which victims were killed even after ransom had been paid.
The development raises further concerns about the effectiveness of ransom payments as a means of securing the release of abducted persons and the growing brutality of kidnapping networks.
Beyond the immediate financial burden on families, SBM warned that ransom payments have wider economic consequences.
Kidnapping can force farmers away from agricultural land, disrupt education, increase private security costs and divert household and business resources towards securing the release of abducted persons.
Kidnapping becoming a source of terror financing
SBM Intelligence warned that the growing volume of ransom payments could strengthen terrorist organisations by providing them with funds to acquire weapons, recruit fighters and sustain operations.
The intelligence firm argued that Nigeria’s kidnapping crisis can no longer be viewed solely as a conventional criminal problem.
The concentration of ransom revenue among terrorist groups, particularly the JAS faction, suggests that kidnapping is increasingly intertwined with the financing of insurgency and terrorism.
SBM called for stronger measures to trace and disrupt financial flows associated with ransom payments, alongside broader economic and security interventions aimed at reducing the pool of recruits available to armed groups.
The report’s findings come amid renewed concerns over large-scale abductions in Nigeria, particularly following the kidnapping of hundreds of civilians in Niger State.
It also adds to growing pressure on security agencies and the Federal Government to develop more effective strategies for preventing mass abductions, dismantling kidnapping networks and addressing the underlying factors that sustain armed criminal groups.
With 7,825 people abducted, 1,142 people killed and at least N7.78 billion paid in ransom in just 12 months, the SBM report presents a stark picture of the scale and financial dimension of Nigeria’s kidnapping crisis.
The intelligence firm warned that without a coordinated strategy targeting both the profitability of kidnapping and the conditions that allow armed groups to recruit and operate, Nigeria risks allowing kidnapping to become not only a criminal industry but also a sustained source of funding for groups threatening national security.
